


Brother

by corgi_loaf



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Parents, Angst, Bonding, Sibling Bonding, no ships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-22 09:28:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19664590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corgi_loaf/pseuds/corgi_loaf
Summary: Max never thought she'd like having a brother, let alone that brother being Billy Hargrove.Just some Max and Billy bonding and backstory since it felt like there wasn't enough in the showSEASON 3 SPOILERS





	Brother

Billy could be such a pain in the ass sometimes. Always hitting on girls, trying to pretend _he’s_ my dad yet at the same time refusing to admit we’re even related, and on top of that he’s so quick to get mad. Sometimes I wish my mom had never remarried and that she could have just been a cool single mom, like I really need a new dad in my life, let alone an abusive step dad and an even _worse_ step brother. My real dad isn’t even that bad! Sure they’d argue about little things and always fight over who “parented” me better but I thought they’d get past it. Call me selfish but I longed for my parents to stay together. 

When my mom and Neil first started dating, I could tell something seemed off. She wouldn’t tell me anything about him other than the fact that he had a son. Plus she always seemed on edge and nervous, like something was waiting to jump out at her like a cheesy horror movie or a ‘haunted’ house at the faire. When they got closer and he started coming around more often, he didn’t seem _too_ bad. He was easily frustrated, yes, but isn’t everyone? I only realized he was bad news when I heard them both loudly yelling when he slept over and he looked ready to hurt my mom. But he stopped before he did anything and everything seemed perfectly fine. Him and my mom planned to get married not long after and I finally met Neil’s son, Billy.

Billy was a couple years older than me and he had a very tough exterior. He didn’t want to talk to me like at all and only did when his dad made him. When Neil told Billy that I was going to be his little sister, he looked enraged. I heard them arguing that night about not wanting a sister or needing one and that he wanted to go away with his mom. At least we had something in common. 

Everything only got worse after the wedding when we were told that we’d be moving to Hawkins, Indiana. I was furious with my mom for moving us so far away from my dad and I could tell Billy was mad too. He would never tell me to my face but I could tell he was extremely upset. 

The day before we were supposed to move, I snuck out of the house and hopped on a bus to LA to see my dad and hopefully move in with him. I didn’t tell him I was coming but left a note for my mom saying I was leaving but didn’t tell her where I was headed. Everything was going according to plan but the bus driver pulled over when a certain Camaro came flying by. Billy.. Before I knew what was even happening, I was pushed into the front seat and had his piercing eyes glaring down at me. “If I have to go, you do too.” was all he said before we were back in our driveway and my mom had me in her arms, crying that she thought I was gone for good. I wish I was.. 

When we first got to Hawkins, I didn’t really want to talk to anyone. I used my skateboard to take me anywhere I could to avoid Billy’s maniac driving and the high risk of flying through the windshield. And the first place I wanted to go to was the arcade. Arcade games always calm my nerves, they give me an outlet for taking out my anger. Maybe Billy would be better if  _ he  _ had an outlet like this. Or I guess, I was his outlet.

I ran inside when I got to the arcade and went straight over to the Dig Dug machine. The top score was weak and I beat it easily, and I think beating those scores surprised the only employee there. He was standing next to the machine when I beat the high score. I looked at his nametag, Keith. I just gave him a cocky smile before putting my name in as MADMAX. I ended up spending a couple hours there before I heard Billy pull into the parking lot. I groaned and looked outside, seeing a piercing glare aimed right at me. 

A few days later it was time to start school. Ugh I hate starting school when the year has already started, it’s hard to make friends when everyone already has a friend group. My first day was as awkward as I expected, a group of boys following me around being creepers. Billy seemed to fit in easily and the girls were fawning all over him. I don’t get what they saw in him, it wasn’t like he was particularly nice. Or maybe they were too blinded by his “ _ devilish good looks”  _ that it didn’t matter that his personality was equivalent to a pile of garbage. 

Over time, life in Hawkins seemed to change. The group of boys became my friends, well Mike wanted no part of me, but Dustin and Lucas were too girl crazy and kept fighting over me. Things became even weirder when monsters from another dimension were trying to kill us and the teenage ex of Mike’s sister became our “mom”. But through all of that, Billy stayed Billy. He was super overprotective of me, did NOT want me dating Lucas, kept threatening my friends, and on top of that, he was always up my ass whenever Neil was mad at him. 

The history of me and my brother is complicated. When we first met, I was an immature kid whose parents just got divorced and was mad at Billy and Neil for replacing my dad as my family. Because of how mad I got at Billy, he started calling me Mad Max. At first I hated it but eventually the name stuck and I began to associate myself with it, like that was my brand, it was who I was. Billy was also very in and out of being an okay brother and an awful brother. Whenever we were in public, he’d pretend he didn’t know me or that I was just some stupid kid. At home, or when there weren’t as many people, he was over the top helicopter parent. He wanted to know everything I did, who I would hang out with, and even tell me what I can and can’t do. I hated when he did that. I wasn’t his kid. But there were times that we really enjoyed each other’s company. He would watch horror movies with me, or show me some of his music. Sometimes he would even give me driving lessons in his car. It always confused me when he was being a good brother, but part of me liked it. 


End file.
